Summary

  • Protest at Shannon Airport against alleged Israel weapon transport
  • Netherlands restricts F-35 export over Israel conflict concerns
  • Ireland’s stance on conflict influenced by historical context

A protest is reported to be happening at Ireland’s Shannon Airport against reports of Israel transporting weapons through Irish airspace. Shannon Airport is a small international airport in western Ireland and became Europe’s first United States border preclearance facility opened in 1986. Shannon Airport is regularly used by the US military as a stopover in transporting military personnel and equipment across the Atlantic. Separately, the Netherlands has recently moved to restrict the export of parts for Israel’s F-35 fighter jets due to concerns over the conflict (many of the components for the F-35 are produced by US allies around the world).

Reported protest at Ireland’s Shannon Airport

According to the Irish news outlet Shannon Side, “A national protest is being held at Shannon Airport today to oppose the US Air Force using the facility.” The publication further states that groups taking part in the protests include Shannonwatch, the Irish Anti-War Movement, and the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Several cars and travelers right outside the main entrance to Shannon Airport.

Photo: shutterupeire | Shutterstock

The protests kicked off at 14:00 local time, and demonstrators criticized the alleged transportation of weapons through Irish airspace to Israel (the Irish Department of Transport is investigating the claims). It is unclear how large the protest was or if there were any disruptions (protests in Ireland are typically peaceful).

Israel has been caught up in an almost-year-long campaign in Gaza in response to the October 7th terrorist attacks by the militant group Hamas. The attack saw almost a thousand Israeli civilians killed and hundreds more taken as hostages into Gaza. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and some other countries. Estimating the number of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza is difficult, and most reported estimates originate from the Hamas-affiliated Gaza Health Ministry.

Context of Ireland’s stance on the conflict

Many in Ireland are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, seeing the conflict from the context of their own historic struggles of British occupation of Ireland. Meanwhile, Israel is a staunch ally of the United States, which has also committed itself to maintaining Israel’s “Qualitative Military Edge” in the region. This commitment is believed to be part of the reason why deals to sell F-35 jets to Arab countries in the region have seemingly fallen through.

IAF F-35I Adir on its first flight with the Israeli Air Force, 13 December 2016
Photo: Major Ofer, Israeli Air Force רס”ן עופר, חיל האוויר הישראלי | Wikimedia Commons

Ireland is officially a neutral country and is not a member of NATO. Enjoying strong relations with the United States and being adjacent to the United Kingdom, Ireland has not seen the need to invest in building much of an air force (or military in general) compared to Nordic countries of comparable population size and economic development. Ireland currently has no combat aircraft.

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